Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection: British Responses, 1859-1871 - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1855069091 ISBN 13: 9781855069091

Publisher: Thoemmes Continuum, 2002

Synopsis

This four-volume collection is the third set in an exciting new Thoemmes Press series Evolution and Anti-Evolution: Debates Before and After Darwin. Following on from Vestiges and the Debate Before Darwin (December 2000) and Evolution and the Spontaneous Generation Debate this compilation examines the different reactions by scientists and theologians to Darwin’s controversial theory of natural selection set out in his On the Origin of Species (1859).

The material collected in this set covers a range of British responses, from the watershed publication of Origin to just before the appearance of The Descent of Man (1871). Opinions during that period ranged from outright rejection by the likes of Adam Sedgwick through to acceptance and modification by Alfred Russel Wallace. Volume 1 begins with the major reviews of Origin by supporters such as T. H. Huxley and John Dalton Hooker and opponents such as Adam Sedgwick and Richard Owen. Also included in this volume is Fleeming Jenkin’s review of 1867, a piece which Darwin himself felt to be the best and most helpful critical review of his work. The volume ends with the first book-length refutation of transmutation, by Charles Bree. The remaining three volumes contain key hard-to-find books that give a flavour of the diverse opinions of scientists and theologians surrounding the natural selection theory.

This gathering of rare and unattainable material vividly illustrates the contemporary reaction to Darwin’s theory,but also shows the importance of periodical reviews in nineteenth-century scientific debate and of these Victorian writers as popularizers of science. Scholars of Darwinism and the history of science will now be able to examine this important period in the development of evolutionary thought with reference to the primary source material. The collection is also useful to those studying the influence of the early British controversies on the development of American anti-evolutionism, an influence that in many respects set the tone of the debate up until the present day.

About this title

About the Author

John M. Lynch has published widely both in biology and the history of evolutionary biology and is also general editor of the series Evolution and Anti-Evolution (Thoemmes Press).He teaches at Arizona State University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thoemmes Continuum
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1855069091
• ISBN 13: 9781855069091
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 1681
• Editor: Lynch John M.